


My Eyes Adored You

by LinkWorshiper



Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: Fluff, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:28:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23450035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinkWorshiper/pseuds/LinkWorshiper
Summary: Tumblr prompt: Jimmy is a nude model and Thomas is an artist.
Relationships: Thomas Barrow/Jimmy Kent
Comments: 2
Kudos: 73





	My Eyes Adored You

**Author's Note:**

> Grossly un-edited. This is for Abby :)

**MY EYES ADORED YOU**

There was a new one in Mr. Carson’s figure drawing sessions. Jimmy noticed him straight away, though he made every effort to disguise it. Class didn’t start for another fifteen minutes, and most of the other students were leisurely arriving, but this one – the _new one_ – had arrived exactly on the hour. Jimmy couldn’t tell if he’d been seen or not: he hadn’t yet put on his dressing gown, and could possibly have been mistaken for another student in his sweater and plus fours. He wasn’t wearing a tie, but that could have been excused as an artistic decision.

He seemed aloof, almost disinterested. He didn’t speak much more than a word to anyone who greeted him, which made Jimmy nervous to do the same. Looking at the handsome newbie would be completely ruined if Jimmy tried a casual ‘lo and then got shut down immediately. No, much better to live in the realm of possibility. He decided to put his back to the problem. As he started to unbutton his sweater, he thought about the dark eyes, the dark hair and sharp, rosy cheeks. By the time he was rolling his knickerbockers over his knee, Jimmy commanded himself to stop thinking about the _new one_. He was about to stand in front of the whole lot of them – _naked_ – and the last thing he needed was a stiffy while stood in the middle of some rather socially diseased artists.

Over his shoulder, he heard Mr. Carson greet the room. More importantly, he heard Mr. Carson introduce the _new one_ to the others. “This is Thomas,” he said with his usual straightforwardness. “He’s been recommended by Doctor Clarkson, who felt he was too advanced for the standard course. Do your best to welcome him.”

The usual muttering of hello rolled around the room. By then, Jimmy had tied the sash of his dressing gown and was facing the class, waiting for Mr. Carson’s direction.

“James, if you will.” Mr. Carson gestured to the model’s stand in the middle of the room. There was a chair draped in fabric set up for Jimmy’s convenience, though he likely wouldn’t sit until the class got to the longer poses. As he stepped up, Mr. Carson directed him to switch every five minutes. At once, he dropped the dressing gown, letting it crumple around his bare feet. Then he was bare, too – and he could tell the _new one_ – Thomas, rather – was watching.

For the first pose, he stood facing Thomas. To Jimmy’s surprise, Thomas didn’t even pick up his charcoal to sketch. Instead, he just stared at Jimmy from behind his drawing board, studying him in a way that made Jimmy feel more naked than he already was. When Mr. Carson called five minutes, he made a point to turn his back to Thomas for every pose after. He was afraid to look. It made him too warm.

After twenty minutes, Mr. Carson let Jimmy take a break to stretch. Usually Jimmy liked to light a cigarette and take a loop around the room to see who’d managed to draw him well. This being the advanced class, most of the art was fairly good, but today, there was one that stood well above the rest. It was the only one without an artist standing next to it, but Jimmy somehow _knew_ the image belonged to Thomas. The lines were quick, with long curves that flicked from the wrist and then took sharp angled contours. Parts of it were extremely well finished, while other areas remained a sketched line drawing. The effect drew the eye intentionally. It was interesting, Jimmy noted, because there was focus on the most unexpected parts – the shoulder, the thigh, the swoop of his hair over one ear. Jimmy looked about, curious to ask Thomas about it, but had to really search before he noticed Thomas having a smoke near a window, half hidden behind a cluster of easels. Patting down his dressing gown for his own packet of cigarettes, Jimmy was about to move in that direction when Mr. Carson called for the next session to begin.

This time, Jimmy made a point to face Thomas. He wanted to see how Thomas would render his face – if he chose to render it at all. The poses were fifteen minutes long now, so Jimmy chain smoked through each one. Every time he checked on Thomas, it felt like he was reaching for Jimmy with his glances. For fun, Jimmy imagined that they were already friends. Maybe more. They’d crawl into pubs at midnight and hold hands in secret. Kiss in secret. Jimmy had to light another cigarette to keep his mind and body off the topic of what came next.

It took Jimmy about two more weeks of nude modelling before he managed to catch Thomas on a break, and then, only just. Speaking to Thomas came more difficultly than it did with other people, mostly because Jimmy was still trying to sound as casual as possible. He acted nonchalant when Thomas put on his hat and coat to buy lunch and didn’t follow him lest he seem too eager. Though doing so only made him want Thomas more. It felt like the more he behaved aloof towards Thomas, the closer they got. Like they communicated without needing words.

At long last, about a fortnight later, Jimmy thought of a foolproof plan to cross the barrier between model and student. There was a certain protocol in nude drawing classes to keep silent, a respect for the model’s dignity while he was bare. Wanting to be alone with Thomas but without drawing too much attention to it, Jimmy scrawled the words _‘I often think of you’_ onto a scrap of paper, folded it and then left it on Thomas’s drawing horse while Thomas was away.

When the break was finished, Jimmy removed his dressing gown and watched for a reaction. He thought he might have seen Thomas find the note, but there was little reaction for him to gauge how it went over. He hoped it would be waiting for him at the next break. When nothing happened beyond the usual, Jimmy tried not to be disappointed.

At the end of the day, however, when Jimmy was dressing again, he realized that everyone had left the room but Thomas. A hint of golden hour light filtered through the windows and painted Thomas like an Impressionist, derby on and portfolio under arm. Jimmy finished buttoning his sweater and put on his flatcap, unsure what to say.

Which was fine, because it was Thomas who spoke first. “I already have you,” he said, indicating his portfolio with a slight lift. “And I think of you always.”

Jimmy shivered, smiled, and then asked Thomas if he wanted a cigarette.

“I do,” said Thomas. “I certainly do.”


End file.
